The Heart Knows
by mercscilla
Summary: Will tells her of Christmas in Storybrooke, how much she's going to love it, and for a few moments they can pretend she's not dying.


**A/N:** One of my Knalice Secret Santa gift for _pink-flame_. ^^ I loved the 2nd fanfic wish, but after the last episode, I adapted it a little, so this is set in some sort of future!AU. I hope that's okay. :)  
**Disclaimer:** I own neither the show nor the characters. I don't earn any money with this piece. I just do it for fun.

* * *

The first thing Alice realises as she comes to is that she's lying on solid ground, something large and heavy wrapped around her, and even though her head's swimming and her whole body is aching, she's warm and comfortable.

She blinks a few times to clear her blurry eyes and as the world comes into focus, she sees Will sitting next to her, staring at a small fire burning nearby, its light illuminating the trees looming above her. The leaves rustle in the breeze and she catches a glimpse of the stars of Wonderland, twinkling in the night sky like tiny ice shards in dark water.

It hits her then, _the Dark Sea. The serpent. The battle and the cliff. Will yelling her name. Falling into freezing water_, and she jerks upright, crying out as her body protests at the too sudden movement, the pain stealing her breath.

"What the bloody—?" She's dimly aware of Will scrambling to his feet and then she feels his hands under her shoulders, lowering her gently back to the ground.

"Breathe, Alice."

Closing her eyes, Alice concentrates on doing just that, and after what feels like a lifetime, the pain begins to subside, leaving behind only a dull ache. When she finally opens her eyes again, Will is hovering above her, watching her intently.

"What happened?" She rasps out, but he stays silent, his jaw clenched tight, and she feels a strange pressure building in her chest. "What is it?"

He looks away then and Alice reaches out, laying a trembling hand on his arm, and opens her mouth but the words get stuck in her throat as she sees what she's wearing.

His leather jacket.

In all the time she's known him, he never parted with his jacket, not once, and the discovery that he did now sets her heart racing, a tense sort of panic winding its way up her spine, and she twists her fingers into his thermal.

The muscles under her hand jump as he balls his hand into a fist and for a moment she wonders if he's ever going to answer her but then he sighs in defeat. "When you fell into the sea, you almost drowned."

A memory rises from the depth of her mind, of sunlight breaking through the water's surface, a cloud of scattered gold following her as she slowly sunk further into the darkness, and Alice tightens her grip on his arm involuntarily as it begins to dawn on her what he's getting at.

"I swallowed the water, didn't I?"

He raises his gaze to hers and she knows the answer before he speaks. "Yes."

Her hand falls limply to the ground as her strength leaves her, a stinging sensation burning at the corners of her eyes, and she's barely aware of Will talking as her mind dissolves.

The Dark Sea is quite the magnificent sight with a million tiny ice shards drifting through its water and reflecting the light of Wonderland's sun, and the display has enchanted many an inhabitant of Wonderland, but in the the end, it brought them nothing but tragedy.

For its beauty is as lethal as a poisoned apple, and those who drank from the water, slowly froze to death from the inside out.

Blackness rushes in on her, so unexpectedly that she cannot prepare for it, and it's only when Will shakes her gently and calls her name repeatedly that she comes back to herself.

"Alice, listen to me," he repeats again. "_Alice!_"

"What?" Her voice sounds small and flat.

"We will find a way."

"I drank the water, Knave!" She snaps, letting out a strangled sort of half-sob. "There's no—"

"You're not going to die!" Even in the dim light she can make out an array of emotions flickering across his face and her breath catches in her throat.

"You will not die," he says again and there's a strange edge to his voice. "You will survive this, and then I'm going to take you to Storybrooke and we're finally going to have that hot chocolate at Granny's. You will love it, especially right now, with Christmas just around the corner."

She knows exactly what he's trying to do, and part of her wants to hit him, tell him to take his stupid make-believe-story and go to hell, but another part of her, the one who survived Bethlem and everything Wonderland has thrown at her so far, that part realizes Will is just as scared as she is, and with that realization comes a decision.

Swallowing past the sudden tightness in her throat, she gives him a watery smile. "Why is that?"

The tense set of his shoulders relaxes and the ghost of a smile flitting across his lips as he squeezes her fingers between his own. "The Christmas-themed marshmallows, of course. Granny outdoes herself every year with them, makes tiny Santa Clauses, Christmas Trees, angels, bells, stars, and every other Christmas shape imaginable." He sighs wistfully. "And all the different flavours..."

Alice studies him, pursing her lips in an effort to keep from grinning. "You really love them, don't you?"

"Well, they do taste delicious," he defends himself, looking a bit flustered. "But it's not just the marshmallows you're going to love. Storybrooke during the Christmas season is a sight to behold. Most of the year it was a mess of drama, misery and tragedies, but around Christmas, everything seemed to be less dull and grim, and now, after the curse has been broken, it's even better." He traces his thumb over the tops of her knuckles, and she feels a lightness over her shoulders despite the heavy weight in her bones.

"We always had a Christmas Tree in the middle of the town square, but now the tree looks truly magnificent with its enchanted ornaments, fairy lights and magical snow. Just be careful and don't get to close too one of those lights or it will shower you with glitter and you end up sparkling for the rest of the season. Awful sneaky bunch, those lights."

This time, she does laugh. "Were you caught...?"

Will smirks. "Never, but one of Snow's dwarfs was so unlucky to get caught. They didn't need any lights in the mine for a few weeks after that."

Something sparks in his eyes then and he leans in, lowering his voice. "Speaking of getting caught. Better always look up and check the doorways. Ruby loves to deck out every available doorway with mistletoe, but after the saviour broke the curse, it's only gotten worse. Now there's a spell on them and the pair that gets caught underneath an enchanted mistletoe, has no other choice but to kiss or they're stuck forever in the doorway."

Alice shakes her head, biting her lip. "Christmas really seems to be the season of magic in Storybrooke."

"You have no idea." Will points at her. "All I'm saying is skating on the frozen ocean on Christmas Eve."

"I wish I could see it."

The second the words have left her lips, something twists inside her, something cold and dark and _painful_, and she can't help the whimper that escapes her.

"Alice? What is it?"

Waves of cold fear roll through her as her eyes meet his. "I can't feel my legs."

For one moment, the world seems to stop as they stare at each other, but then it rushes back in on them, and Will jumps into action, cursing under his breath. His hands slide under body, gently pushing her up and positioning her so that she's resting against one of the trees.

"We need to get you warm somehow. Maybe that's going to slow it down." He turns towards the fire but she grips his shoulder, stilling his movement.

"Will. Stop." Hot tears burn behind her eyes at the helpless feeling of defeat. The muscles in his back stiffen before his shoulders drop and he turns to face her again. "Alice..."

His voice trails off as she reaches up and lets her fingertips ghost along the hard lines of his face. Something dark and intense flashes in his eyes then but it's gone as quickly as it came and he exhales a shuddering breath before catching her hand in his. "No. There has to be a way."

"There is none!" She hisses, angrily wiping away the few traitor tears running down her cheeks.

This seems to send him over the edge, and Alice can do nothing but watch in stunned silence as he drops her hand as if her skin scalds him and stands up, running a hand over his head. "Bloody hell, Alice, I'm not going to let you die!"

"You can't just snap your fingers and make it go away!"

"I can't—" He stops short, his eyes flicking to her. "You're right. I can't but someone else can."

"What?"

His eyes harden in an instant and he steps out of reach, and her heart turns into a wild thing in her chest. "What are you doing?"

"_Rumplestiltskin!_"

"Will, _no!_"

Her outcry comes to late. Magic bursts across her mind in a deep hum as a man, clad in dark leather and surrounded by a powerful aura, appears out of thin air on the other side of the fire.

"Young Will Scarlett. I've been wondering where you disappeared to." The man tilts his head, his eyes shining with an unnatural light. "Imagine my surprise to find you've gone back to the one place you swore you would never return to."

Will's hands twitch imperceptible. "I had a change of heart."

"Isn't it always the heart?" The Dark One curls his lips into a grin that is all teeth. "Now, tell me, what can I do for you?"

"Not for me." Will shifts to the side. "For her."

Alice straightens her posture as much as she can considering her current position when Rumplestiltskin fixes his gaze on her, his curiosity obviously piqued.

"And who might you be, young lady?"

"Alice," she answers calmly, showing no outward sign of being ill at ease.

"_Alice_," he repeats thoughtfully and his look turns calculating. "People talk about you. Tell stories about your encounters with the Queen of Hearts and the Red Queen, your battles with Jafar and his final demise, and how you gave the Knave his heart back and later freed him from the curse of being a genie. All on your own." He inclines his head in her direction. "I must admit, I'm impressed. It will be an honour to make a deal with you."

His words are a chilling reminder that he's not here to exchange pleasantries and Alice feels a faintness taking hold of her, a helpless dizziness swimming at the corners of her vision, but before she can do anything, Will speaks up.

"Your deal will be with me," he says, his voice carrying out across the darkened clearing, and a different kind of coldness spreads through her body. "She swallowed the water of the Dark Sea. I need you to heal her."

"Will, you—" The words die on her lips as he looks at her, the weight of his gaze settling heavy across her collarbone.

"He is our only chance," he says, and Alice closes her eyes briefly in resignation, knowing he's right but hating it at the same time.

"Fine," she whispers finally. "_Fine_."

Will kneels down in front of her, wrapping his fingers around her wrist, his thumb pressing along her pulse line, and his touch slides along her numb skin like a slow shiver. "It will be alright, love."

"As touching as this is, I'm afraid we have a much more pressing matter to attend." Rumplestiltskin's voice cuts through the air like a sword and they turn to find him watching them with an eyebrow arched expectantly.

"What do you want in return?"

Alice tenses up involuntarily at Will's question, but he entwines his fingers tightly with hers, the pressure of them warm and soothing, and she forces herself to relax.

"A favor," Rumplestiltskin answers. "I'll heal her and you'll owe me a favor which I'm going to collect at some point in the future."

"Deal," Will agrees without hesitation, and even though Alice tries not to flinch, she still does.

"Excellent." Rumplestiltskin moves his hand and in a cloud of purple smoke a bottle materializes between Alice's fingers. "You better drink up, dearie." He waves his fingers at her, his lips curled into a hint of a smirk, and then he's gone.

The silence that follows is tense and weighted, making Alice feel as is she were pinned down by one of the Cheshire Cat's giant paws and struggling to breathe.

"I'm not going to apologize." Will's quiet voice startles her out of her own war with her heart and mind, and Alice slowly raises her head.

"I'm not," he repeats, still in that same low voice, his eyes holding that familiar intensity, and she exhales, fighting the urge to look away.

"I just—why, Will?"

"You know why." He strokes her cheek with the tips of his fingers and she shivers, her eyes sliding away from his to stare off into the darkness beyond the fire.

She does know why. To be honest, the knowledge has always been there, swirling in the shadows at the edge of her mind all this time, since the moment he took her hand and followed her down the rabbit hole. She tried to ignore it, they both did, clung to who they believed was their true love, but the months they spent together taught them otherwise, and now there is no more ignoring, not after today.

"Alice?" Will asks, his fingers lifting her chin until their gazes met again, barely veiled anxiety and concern visible in his eyes as he searches hers, and Alice feels something unfurling inside her.

"Yes, I do know," she says, smiling softly, her hand brushing against his, and the tension embedded in his shoulder dissipates.

"Good." A little smile of his own comes to his face and he glances down. "Now let's get you cured."

She follows his line of sight to the bottle cradled in her hand and bites back a gasp as the potion flares golden for a moment, as if sensing its the center of attention. Flecks of gold and tiny flames drift in the liquid, swirling around as if stirred by an invisible hand, and with every heartbeat the bottle grows warmer, the heat seeping into her stiff and numb fingers.

Carefully but not hesitantly, Alice uncorks the bottle, takes a deep breath, and with one last look at Will, drinks it all at once. Heat rushes down her throat and pools in her stomach before magic blooms in every deep place of her body, fiery and bright like one of Wonderland's flowers, and her eyes fall closed as things spiral into blackness.

With the next heartbeat, the darkness bursts into colour behind her eyes and it feels like she's falling rapidly out of a dream, leaving her dizzy and breathless. The world around her is unnaturally bright and Will is nothing more than a blurry figure at the corner of her eyes. The sensation slowly fades away but the warmth stays behind, tingling just beneath her skin.

"Love? Are you—?"

"Warm." Grinning, she stretches her legs and wriggles her fingers, relishes in the pins and needles, and when she sees the amused glint in Will's eyes at her antics, she throws her arms around his neck without a second thought.

Chuckling, he returns her hug, sliding his arms around her and pulling her closer. "Never took you for an Ice Queen anyway," he teases her, and Alice buries her face in his neck, muffling her laughter.

"Thank you," she whispers against his ear, her throat thick with emotion, and his arms tighten around her. When she draws back, she finds the humour in his eyes gone, replaced with something more fervent, so intense that it takes her breath away.

His fingers press into her shoulders and then Will is moving forward, leans in and presses a hard kiss to her forehead. "Let's get some rest, love." His voice is a soft vibration against her forehead and a little sigh leaves her lips as Alice relaxes into him, realizing for the first time how tired she actually is, feeling not only physically drained but mentally as well.

Yawning, she shifts to burrow a little further into his jacket, and when Will wraps one arm around her, she instinctively turns to curl into his side with her head pillowed on his shoulder, her eyelids already fluttering shut.

As she slowly drifts off, Will's hand brushes hers, his thumb running over the inside of her palm in small circles, and she lets the motion lull her to sleep.

- END -


End file.
